Author Archives: Chris Morris

App review: My First Puzzles

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Puzzles on the iPhone are a concept that just makes sense – and My First Puzzles gets it right. It’s an incredibly polished game that’s easy for children to pick up and play. As a child selects a piece with his or her finger, the others fade away, removing all distractions as players find the right spot for it. Though there are only 12 puzzles for kids to choose from — a number we wish was a bit higher — the replay value of the app is incredibly high. Your kids won’t get bored, even long after they’ve figured out how to solve the puzzles.

Read more at Common Sense Media


Gamers more than ready for ‘Duty’

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While most videogame publishers are taking advantage of digital downloads to extend their profits these days, none are doing so as successfully as Activision.

The company on Monday announced that life-to-date sales for downloadable expansions to its “Call of Duty” games have surpassed 20 million units.

Read more at Daily Variety

Has GameStop Gone Mad?

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Game publishers and game retailers have, at best, an uneasy relationship – so what happens when one becomes the other? It’s a growing question that should make for some interesting times in the years ahead.

Valve Software kicked off the hybrid developer/distributor model in 2003 with Steam, and it wasn’t long before Electronic Arts and Activision followed suit with their own online stores, giving them more control of (and higher margins from) the sale of their games and in-game content. Microsoft and Sony, meanwhile, straddle the fence with the storefronts that are built into the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Read more at Game Theory

An in-depth look at the changing world of video games

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There are a lot of sites discussing the state of the video game industry today, but many just skim the surface. Well-respected video game industry analyst Scott Steinberg is hoping to change that with Game Theory, a new site launching today that will offer designers, executives and journalists the opportunity to discuss and debate the day’s top issues, while giving fans a deeper look at the inner workings of the game world.

The site is a mix of written columns (disclaimer: I’m contributing regular opinion pieces to the project) and video documentaries. The first video (embedded above) polls developers and executives about the dramatic changes the industry is facing these days.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Who You Know and Who They Know

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In a world where the demands for people’s attention grow exponentially, it’s hard to break through the noise, no matter how strong of a salesperson you are. And even if you do manage to capture their attention, getting customers to change their ingrained habits is even harder.

The brute force method can work – sometimes – but the hours you’ll spend on cold calls, mailings and learning the best methods to penetrate their walls is expensive. Smart sales leaders leverage their existing customer base and social contacts to build their business.

Read more in the July 2010 issue of Transaction Trends (PDF)

Facebook: More popular than games and email

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If you still doubt the power of social media, the Nielsen Company would beg to differ. New research from the ratings service finds sites like Facebook and MySpace are dominating nearly one-quarter of the time Americans spend online these days. 

The sites are so popular that their usage is more than twice that of video games and triple that of email. And they’re growing at an incredible rate.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog.

Social Gaming Companies See Their Stock Rise

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For the better part of the last year, game industry pundits have shouted from the rooftops that social network gaming was the next big thing – but it’s starting to look like even they underestimated just how big it would be.

Major media companies, traditional game developers and more are gobbling up the developers of Facebook and MySpace games – and the price tags are escalating at a startling pace.

Read more at CNBC.com

Nintendo preps 3DS details

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Nintendo’s still not ready to spill all the beans about the 3DS, its handheld game system that projects stereoscopic 3D images without the need for special glasses, but it’s getting close. 

The company cryptically announced it would give details of a ‘new product’ on Sept. 29. And while it’s possible the company has something unknown up its sleeve, most industry observers expect it will use that date to give the launch date and price for the 3DS.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Amazon unveils new Kindle

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Although some parties thought the eReader would fall by the wayside when the iPad hit shelves, Amazon is making an emphatic statement to the contrary. The online retailer has unveiled a new, upgraded Kindle device as well as a new lower-priced model. 

The new Kindle, like the old one, boasts a 6-inch screen, but uses a newer type of e-Ink – the same that’s used in the high-end Kindle DX device. It’s also 21 percent smaller, has twice as much storage (4 GB) and Amazon says it has an improved battery life as well.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog.

App review: KidFit

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It’s nice to see an app like KIDFIT, which encourages children to not only move, but teaches them proper exercise techniques. It’s a shame, though, that the app’s interface doesn’t cater to that same audience. While it offers a wide variety of exercises, it crams up to 10 on the screen at one time, making it a challenge to select the one you want. The videos are a good idea to supplement the sometimes too-technical instructions, but the aspect ratio seems stretched, which can be distracting.

Read more at Common Sense Media